Cats That Look Like Hitler
{{Redirect|Kitler|people named "Kittler"|Kittler}}
{{Short description|Satirical website for photographs of cats}}
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| country_of_origin = Poland
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| owner = Paul Neve
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| founder = Koos Plegt
Paul Neve
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Cats That Look Like Hitler is a satirical website featuring photographs of cats resembling Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945.{{Cite web |last=Finkelstein |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Finkelstein |date=26 February 2007 |title=Cats That Look Like Hitler |url=http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/02/cats_that_look_.html |website=The Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719025347/http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/02/cats_that_look_.html |archive-date=19 July 2008 }} Such cats are often referred to as {{not a typo|kitler}} on the Internet.{{Cite news |title=Researchers Find Why Some Cats Look Like Hitler |newspaper=The Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/researchers-may-now-know-why-some-cats-look-like-hitler/amp/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420071347/https://www.timesofisrael.com/researchers-may-now-know-why-some-cats-look-like-hitler/amp/ |archive-date=20 April 2021 |access-date=19 April 2021 }} The majority of the cats are piebald, with a large black splotch underneath their noses, much like the dictator's toothbrush moustache, and other features that suggest a typically stern expression. Some have diagonal black patches on their heads resembling Hitler's fringe. The site was founded by Koos Plegt and Paul Neve in 2006{{Cite web |last=Brottman |first=Mikita |author-link=Mikita Brottman |date=7 February 2007 |title=Mein Kat |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/10186/mein-kat/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721110451/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/10186/mein-kat/ |archive-date=21 July 2008 |publisher=PopMatters |access-date=6 August 2008 }} and became widely known after being featured on several television programmes across Europe{{Cite AV media |last=Ross |first=Jonathan |date=2006 |title=The Jonathan Ross Show |publisher=BBC |location=UK |medium=TV-series }}{{Cite AV media |last= |date=2008 |title=The Graham Norton Show |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCUu1nyE398 |publisher=BBC |location=UK |medium=TV-series }} and Australia.{{Cite AV media |last=Walmsley |first=Dan |date=2006 |title=The Breakfast Show Live: A History of the Web |location=Australia |medium=TV-series }} The site was later run only by Neve. By February 2013 he had approved photographs of over 7,500 cats.{{Cite web |last=Neve |first=Paul |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigany.pl?faq.html |website=CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003104817/http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigany.pl?faq.html |archive-date=3 October 2015 |access-date=8 February 2013 }} The website has not been updated since April 2014.
In popular culture
Stephen Colbert mentioned the site on The Colbert Report in July 2010.{{Cite web |last=Moos |first=Jeanne |author-link=Jeanne Moos |date=28 July 2010 |title=Cats That Look Like Hitler |url=http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2010/07/27/moos.hitler.cats.cnn?hpt=C2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230111923/http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2010/07/27/moos.hitler.cats.cnn?hpt=C2 |archive-date=30 December 2010 |website=CNN |access-date=28 July 2010 }} The site was commonly referenced in the now defunct Australian gaming magazine Total Gamer and has become well known in New Zealand since it was mentioned on the Edge Nightshow by Brad Wattson that his cat 'Piggles' was the No. 1 "{{not a typo|kitler}}" (kitty Hitler) in the world. The site was also mentioned fleetingly in The Social Network.{{Cite web |title=The Social Network (2010) |website=IMDb |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/characters/nm1648492 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420071351/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/characters/nm1648492 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |access-date=20 April 2021}}
Cats are a popular staple of Internet culture, and Cats That Look Like Hitler can be considered an offshoot of a broader cultural fascination with cats on the Internet. In 2011, The Daily Telegraph reported on a "{{not a typo|kitler}}" that was unable to find adoption due to its facial resemblance to the dictator.{{Cite news |title=Hitler Cat 'Overlooked for Adoption Because of Markings' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8669983/Hitler-cat-overlooked-for-adoption-because-of-markings.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218063548/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8669983/Hitler-cat-overlooked-for-adoption-because-of-markings.html |archive-date=18 February 2021 |website=Telegraph.co.uk |date=29 July 2011 |access-date=20 April 2021 }}
Writer for The Times, Ben Machell, has interviewed the owners of sensational cats such as those on the site and has come up with various possible explanations for the creation and popularity of cats on the Internet, including Cats That Look Like Hitler. Machell mentions the cat's mysterious nature and personality as a perfect target for projecting personality and emotion on, and recalls the worship of cats by the ancient Egyptians.{{Cite news |last=Machell |first=Ben |date=6 October 2012 |title=What Is It About Cats? |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-100-tech/hardware-profile/article/what-is-it-about-cats-wftrv85hm6g |newspaper=The Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122010948/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/magazine/article3555112.ece |archive-date=22 January 2013 }}
A meteorologist at Kansas City's news station, KCTV5, apologized in 2021 after featuring a cat that looked like Hitler, also named "Kitler", during a segment called "Caturday" which features photos of local cats submitted by viewers along with the weather update.{{Cite news |date=16 February 2021 |title=Kansas City Meteorologist Apologizes after Showcasing the Cat Kitler |url=https://www.jpost.com/omg/kansas-city-meteorologist-apologizes-after-showcasing-the-cat-kitler-659195 |access-date=20 August 2024 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post }}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Cats That Look Like Hitler}}
- {{Official website}}
Category:British comedy websites
Category:Cats in popular culture
Category:Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler
Category:Disturbances of pigmentation